Best Albums: Chino + Isis, Taiwanese symphonic metal, and a polymath poet

This week’s best albums

– Comprised of Deftones singer Chino Moreno and 3/5 of Isis (no Aaron Turner, though), Palms makes a debut that’s weighty, pretty, and for fans of modern post-metal.

– Taiwanese symphonic metal band Chthonic (pronounced “thonic”) ratchets up the fury, adding raging rock solos that wail, squeal, and harmonize on nearly every track.

– Singer-songwriter Dessa (part of the Doomtree hip-hop collective) splices electronic DNA to echoing orchestrals and full-band balladry.

– Super-group Bosnian Rainbows (members of The Mars Volta and Le Butcherettes) excels with proto-punk riffs, metronomic drumming, and Teri Gender Bender’s direct, post-punky vocals.

– Seattle septet Rose Windows blurs genre boundaries on its debut album, shifting with ease between heavy post-rock, indie Americana, and prog folk, as well as bursts of Persian, Indian, and Eastern European music influences.

– Though still defined by noise, drone, and black metal, Locrian takes a cue from prog-rock influences to deliver a dynamic concept album.

Honorable mentions

All Tiny Creatures: Dark Clock (Hometapes)

Amon Amarth: Deceiver of the Gods (Metal Blade)

Femi Kuti: No Place for My Dream (Knitting Factory)

Lesbian: Forestelevision (Translation Loss)

µ-Ziq: Chewed Corners (Planet Mu)

Pity Sex: Feast of Love (Run for Cover)

Sebadoh: Secret EP (Joyful Noise)

Serengeti: Kenny Dennis LP (Anticon)

David Yow: Tonight You Look Like a Spider (Joyful Noise)